Valve-controlling device.



E. T. PARDEE. VALVE CONTROLLING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1907.

Patented Nov. 23, 1909.

evzfiv Ea$0arE QLQ/QQQ "citizen, of the United States, residing at able shape or construction, and I have llOI'OIIl shown it as an ordinary valve in a pipe or conduit leading to gas warren srAtrEs Parana OFFICE.

EDVI'ARD T. PARDEE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

L' i VALVE-CONTROLLINGDEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Nov, 1909, Application filed Ma 8,1907. Serial ml 372,584.

all whom it may concern: Be it known that. I, Eowann T. PARDEE, a

Bostoii,.cou11ty of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvementin Valve-Controlling Devices, of which the. following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a. specifica-' tion. like numerals on the drawing repre scnting like parts.

This invention has for its object to pro vide a novel valve controlling means which is es iecially adapted for controlling the burners in a railway car.

Whenever an accident occurs on a railroad and a passenger car is overturned, one of the greatest dangers is from fire caused by the ignition of inflammable parts of the car, as its Furnishings, or of escaping gas.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a novel valve device controlling the supply of gas to the burners which Will be held open so long as the car is upright, but which will be automatically closed it the car should be overturned, thereby shutting off the supply of gas to the burners and preventing any danger of fire. v

In accordance with my invention, I provide a valve in the gas conduitand a device for holding the valve open, which device is maii'itaincd in its operative position by gravity so long as the car is upright, but which is thrown out of its operative position when the car turns over and permits the valve to close.

in the drawings wherein l have shown one embodiment; of my invention, the gas pipe or conduit 3 has therein a valve passage'4 within which is a suitable valve 5. The valve is shown as provided with a stem 6 which extends through the casing and preferably through a suitable packing box 7. Within the valve casing is shown. a suitable spring 8 which normally tonds to close the valve. The valve may be of any suitpiston-valve, although this is not essential to my i'nven tion. The valve is normally held open by a suitable strut or restraining device 1) which is held in its operative position by gravity. '.lhis strut J is shown as having an enlarged portion 10 which r sts on a suitable support 11,. and the end or the strut bears against the head 12 of the valve stem.- The strut has depending therefrom the Weighted pendant 13 which acts to hold the strut'nor- :nally in its operative position, as shown in the drawings. If for'any reason the strut is thrownont of its verticalposition soas to be disengaged from the head 12, then the spring 8 will come into play to close the valve 5, as will be o'bvious.

When this invention is used in connection with the gas piping system of a railway car,

a valve as herein shown may be placed in the gas pipe or conduit leading from the gas reservoir to the burners, or a valve maybe placed in each pipe at a point between the main conduit and each burner. In either event so long as the car is in its vertical position after the device is properly adjusted, the weighted pendant. 13 will hold the strut 9 in its operative position to main- .tain the 'alve open, but it for any reason the car turns over on to its side or tips suiticiently so that the action of gravity on the pendant 13 will swing the strut 9 clear from the head 12, then the spring 8 will come into play to close the valve automatically and shut off the supply of gas. The head 12 is herein shown as having a concave an der face 14 against which the strut 9 rests. The amount which the czir may tip before the valve will be closed depends on the size of the face 14, as will be obvious. Since the car of a rapidly-moving train always has more or loss motion, it is desirable that the surface 14 should have sutiicient size to allow for all ordinary vibrations-or swinging movement of the pendant without dan ger. of becoming disengaged from the head 12.

In the present embodiment of my invention the enlarged portion it) of the strut is made rounded so that it can easily turn in any direction on the support 11, and the pendant. l3- hangs down through said support. This, however, is only the preferred embodiment of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited thereto.

In order to avoid ambiguity, I will refer to the proper vertical position of the valve and pendant weight as shown in the drawings as the normal position, and that position which the valve and, pendant Weight must assume relative to each other in order to permit the valve to close, as the abnormal position.

I moved into abnormal position,

I being Havin fully described my invention, what. I c aim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a'gas conduit, a valve body connected thereto and a valve within the valve body, of a support adjacent the valve body, gravity-actuated means sustained by the sup ort to maintain the valve open when the va ve and support are in normal 'position, said gravity-actuated means moved by gravity out of its operative position when the support and the valve are whereby the valve is "permitted to close, and automatically-operative means to close the valve when released by said gravity-actuated means.-

2. The combination with a gas conduit and valve therein, of a strut to hold the valve open, gravity-actuated means to maintain the strut in operative position when the valve is in normal position and to cause said strut to be disengaged fromthe valve when the latter is turned sufficiently out of its normal position, and means to close the valve when released by the strut.

r 3. The combination with a gas conduit, of

a spring-pressed valve for closingthe con- .duit, means maintained in a given position by gravity and adaptedvto hold said valve open against the action of the spring when the valve has a certain position relativeto said means and to release said valve thereby permitting the valve toclose when the valve has another position relative to said means;

4. The combination with a gas conduit, of a spring-actuated valve for closing the same, a strut for holding said valve open against the action of the spring, a support for the strut, and a pendant weight associated with said strut and depending below said support whereby the weight keeps the strut 1nvertical position.

In testimony whereof, I have signed name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDWARD T. PAR-DEE.

WVitnesses LOUIS 0. SMITH,

JOHN C. EDWARDS. 

